1/2/2007 Weekly Migratory Bird Hunting Report

[bronco1]

News Release

Media Contact: Steve Lightfoot, (512) 389-4701, [email protected]

Jan. 2, 2008

Weekly Migratory Bird Hunting Report

Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.

High Plains Mallard Management Unit/Panhandle: Colder temperatures helped decoying action early this week. Better flights of Canadas have been working wheat and corn fields around Etter, Dumas and Spearman. With a little cloud cover, snow geese have decoyed better. Duck hunting has been fair to good on playas. Mallards, wigeons, gadwalls, teal and wood ducks have been working playas and feed lot tanks. Haskell County hunters have enjoyed steady shoots for dark geese and ducks. Hunting around Lubbock has been good for ducks and Canadas. The region is hoping the Arctic blast will send larger Canadas from Kansas and Nebraska. Prospects are good.

North Zone Waterfowl: Limits of mallards have been the norm in the river bottoms of Central Texas around Centerville. Wood ducks and gadwalls have been available as well. A few mallards have been taken in the private river bottoms around Marshall, Ore City, Tatum and Longview. Hunting on the Sulfur River and Wright-Patman Lake has been slow. Caddo Lake has been fair for divers, including a few canvasbacks. Lake O’the Pines is good for ringed-necks and canvasbacks the Hwy. 155 bridge. Toledo Bend is good for mallards in the secluded coves and canvasbacks on the big water. Hunters around Waco and Stephenville have taken birds on deer lease ponds that are rarely hunted. Lake Livingston has been good for mallards, wood ducks and gadwalls. Hunting has slowed closer to the coast around the IH-10 corridor. Hunters there have been happy with half-limits of teal, gadwalls and shovelers. Prospects are fair.

South Zone Waterfowl: The coastal marshes continue to enjoy the steadiest duck hunting in the state. Port O’Connor, Seadrift and Rockport have harbored impressive numbers of pintails, teal, gadwalls, wigeons and redheads along the shoalgrass shorelines. Good hunts have been had in the High Island marsh as well. Hunting on the high ground near the marsh has not been as strong on the east side of Houston. Trinity Bay hunters have seen slow hunts for the past month. Duck hunting on the coastal prairie has been fair at best. Better shoots were had over the weekend, but hunting overall has been fair at best. Snow goose hunting had taken a turn for the better as geese began to decoy better last week; however, calm days and bright skies hurt that program over the weekend. More Canada geese are showing in soybeans and plowed ground near Eagle Lake and Egypt. Some outfitters have chosen to set dark goose spreads and take advantage of the bounty since snows are so inconsistent. Good shoots for doves have been had near Alice and Falfurius. Port Mansfield, Laredo and Matagorda County hunters have reported steady shooting as well. Prospects are fair to good.

———

On the Net:

Hunting Regulations: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/hunt/